WWE Power Rankings, RAW 10-07-2013

Coming at you from Pittsburgh, off the heels of the Battlefield PPV and possibly the worst RAW in quite some time the WWE and its creative staff needed to have a solid show.  Battlefield was an average PPV.  Nothing too great except a great win by the Rhodes Family over The Shield.  As many predicted, Daniel Bryan didn’t win the WWE strap but even worse, no one did.  The Big Show intervened and decided to grow some balls after knocking out Daniel Bryan on orders of the WWE brass, with his newly grown balls he proceeded to knock out RKO leaving both men down in the ring.  The PPV ended with no resolution, which sucks because 1) the PPV is where resolutions are supposed to happen and 2) when one is paying $40-50 for a PPV you don’t want to see the last match end without a winner of some kind.  Bryan and RKO put on a solid match until the ending.  Let’s hope this week’s RAW can refocus the company and put us back on track.   So with that, let’s get to the rankings as of this week’s RAW on 10/07/2013...

Keep in mind that last week’s WTF rankings was in a worst-to-first order so keep that in mind when you see current rankings vs (previous week’s rankings)...

1. The Shield (19) – These guys are on such a roll.  Sure they might have had so losses of late but that hasn’t diminished what they’re doing.  This isn’t a real sport where wins and losses count for anything.  It’s the performances and no group has been better than the The Shield.  The biggest problem that I have with The Shield is that there is not enough of them to go around.  THAT’S A GOOD THING.  I want them to fight the Rhodes, the Wyatts, the Usos, the Primetime Players, etc.  They’re doing it all and right now they could go against group and I’m watching.  Excellent job.  My only complaint is how they’ve seem to loose 2 or 3 tag matches in a row but haven’t lost the belts.  Somehow, they need to loose the tag belts so they can feud with some of the other groups.  It’s odd but the various straps are keeping The Shield from feuding with certain opponents because every now and then they have to “defend” the belts in some match.  Ambrose’s strap doesn’t hold as big of a problem story-wise but at least give up the tag championship.  This way The Shield is freed up to go in other directions and the new tag champs can feud with the other underused tag teams.
2. Randy Orton (15) – He put on a solid match with Daniel Bryan and an equally good match with Kofi.  I can’t blame him for the storytelling that is going on around him.  He’s doing great with what he’s being asked to do.  While I don’t agree with how this Championship abeyance is being handled, it certainly isn’t RKO’s fault or decision.  To turn the tables on Daniel Bryan by hiding in the crowd 
3. HHH and Stephanie (11) – Stephanie McMahon is a revelation.  She’s the wind that makes RAW soar.  As much as I’ve praised HHH these past few months, Stephanie has been even better.  Tonight, she was able to do what no other wrestler has been able to do in years, put The Big Show over.  She’s even able to breath evil life into Brad Maddox.  She’s like Saruman growing evil Uruk-hai (bigger and badder Orcs) out of the lesser characters.  This is what makes last week’s WTF issues so astonishing.  There isn’t a companywide incompetence.  There’s some really good writing, storytelling and wrestling going on.  Why, or better yet, How did the creative crew lay so many and so big of eggs last week?
4. The Rhodes family (16) – They put on a great match at Battlefield.  They’ve been killing it for the past month since Cody “got fired” and their mini-feud with The Shield has been great.  I’ve always wanted to see Cody feud with Goldust but seeing them team up with their dad in the corner has been almost as good.  
5. Daniel Bryan (6) – When you’ve been trained by the best there ever was, HBK, you’ve got a leg up on the competition.  Bryan and Orton had a good match going until the ending of Battlefield.  Just as with RKO, I’m not going to hold the ending against him.  He teamed up with the Rhodes brothers to fight The Shield in the main event for the evening.  He initially ambushed RKO earlier in RAW, only to be given the ol’ switch-a-roo and got got by RKO almost instantly after HHH made the match a “no DQ” match.  You don’t have to love Bryan or RKO (but from the crowds you’d believe at least Bryan is the next best thing since sliced bread) but you have to respect that they’ve done a great job at keeping the tension high.  I hope there is some resolution coming at Hell in a Cell because with Cena coming back, you know he’ll somehow get involved with the WWE strap.  I could see Bryan coming out with the belt and making Cena the chaser but logic would tell you that the “evil” RKO wins the belt and the “good” Cena wins the belt back.  If that’s the case, what is Bryan’s place at the top of the WWE food chain?  When Punk fell off the top spot, luckily he had Heyman to feud with.  I don’t know where Bryan goes if he’s not mixed in with RKO, HHH and Cena?  Maybe a run with / against Punk?  Let’s hope we don’t have to find out too soon.  At this point, I’m down with Bryan as champ and let the RKO’s and Cena’s fight amongst themselves to see who faces him.
6. CM Punk (20) – Battlefield saw Punk get a small amount of revenge against Heyman by winning his match against Ryback but you have to feel Punk’s redemption and resolution is far from complete.  As Punk’s battle with Heyman continued, a crazy fight broke out.  What did Punk do?  Well, he brought a lunatic to an insanity fight.  Who better to have as your partner when facing an absurd premise (that Punk is the dirty player vs Heyman’s tactics / history) and insane opponents Ryback (and his stance against bullying, when he’s the biggest bully) and Curtis Axel (and his stance against having any personality and / or charisma)?  You bring R-Truth.  I don’t know where this is going but hell, I bought a ticket so let’s see what happens.  Extra props to Punk for his drop toe-hold into a leg snap of Axel.  I’ve never seen that string of moves get put together and done so cleanly and effortlessly.  This coming off a fight with Ryback the night before.  You couldn’t ask for two totally different type of matches and techniques.  Bill Simmons recently compared Punk to HBK, as someone who can put on a great match with anyone.  I originally disagreed, contending that Ziggler was a better example, but seeing who Punk has wrestled in the past 24 months and the different styles, I may have to agree and give Punk the slight edge on in ring abilities.  I just wish Punk had a better finisher than the GTS.  That move is very limited for use on the bigger wrestlers.  If I could adjust one thing to Punk’s arsenal, it would be to give him a better finisher than the GTS.
7. Heyman (8) – Back to the scheming and conniving manager, putting aside the same-sex marriage story just for a minute but unfortunately I doubt forever, Heyman is doing what he does best.  Even in defeat at Battlefield, he’s able to rally his troops (Or legal civil union partners?  Maybe I’m underestimating Heyman and the WWE, they’re not only for same-sex marriage but polygamy as well.  Again, what better face(s) than Heyman, Ryback and Axel? - dripping with sarcasm just to be clear).
8. Alberto Del Rio (17) – If there is one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s not to mess with Latin women and their emotions.  You’d think ADR would have already known this.  Maybe the average white chick would have fallen for his Rico Suave move but Vickie Guerrero has been around the block, a few dozen times.  Vickie was able to hand ADR a quick defeat by announcing John Cena’s return in a match against ADR at Hell in a Cell.  I’m just as surprised at ADR, probably for different reasons, but I would have sworn that Cena would be thrown into the WWE Championship.  Cena mixed up for the world belt is just going to muddy the already cloudy second tier group.  I can’t imagine Cena loosing to ADR but then I can’t imagine Cena with the World belt? 
9. Dolph Ziggler (14) – Ziggler VS Sandow is fantastically underrated.  Both are superb wrestlers and put on great matches.  The problem is that neither of them are going anywhere with these matches.  Ziggler isn’t going to win the MITB case so what are they fighting about.  If Ziggler loses, it just adds to his total underuse of his tremendous talents (unless they’re building Sandow’s threat as a wrestler) and if he wins, what does he gain?  There’s no brass ring in sight for Ziggler’s character at the moment.  
10. Damien Sandow (N/A) – See Ziggler... At least Sandow has the MITB case and we know where he’s going but the problem is that he’s not going there.  Sandow is going to eventually fight for the World Championship, which is currently being held by ADR.  ADR is set to fight Cena at Hell in a Cell.  Yet again, I don’t see how Sandow is getting any closer to either ADR or the World strap?  
11. Kofi Kingston (18) – Another man who put on a solid match both on RAW and the PPV last night.  There’s this second tier of wrestlers that have bottlenecked at the World Champion level.  Kofi, ADR, Sandow, RVD, Ziggler, are all guys that with the right push could be in line for a WWE Championship run.  All of them can wrestle and most of them are good to great on the mic.  Kofi’s mic skills have never been displayed or tested.  There’s no doubt he’s got what it takes in the ring.
12. The Wyatt Family (5) – I’ve been accused of ranking the Wyatts too high.  They rarely wrestle and at this point they seem to just turn out the same promo after promo without having a direction.  Battlefield changed some of that because Bray Wyatt had a solid match against Kofi Kingston.  I have no idea where that match is going to lead between the two, most likely nowhere but it was good.  Not to mention a nice, but creepy, new move that Bray did by crawling upside down.  It was very Exorcist-like and even more impressive, that a man the size of Bray Wyatt could pull it off.  They’ve got the gimmick and the talent to be something special, they just need the right angle.  The right angle is a feud against The Shield.  I don’t know how this is going to happen, like Sandow and ADR, both sides are so far away from each other on the field that I don’t know how they’re going to get together but somehow, someway the Wyatts need to fight The Shield.
13. Ryback (9) – I have my doubts on what this guy is doing or capable of.  Is he the next Goldberg?  Is he the next Kane?  A monster that needs the right angle or just a tool the WWE can use with other characters?  Or does he have potential to be a superstar?  This is one of the biggest questions I have with the WWE right now.  The bad news is that my head tells me he’s got a 33% chance of being a good superstar.  The good news is my heart and gut tell me he’s got a 66% chance to achieving superstar status.  I see glimpses of talent in and out of the ring.  It won’t be easy.  He’s not a natural like Punk, Cena, HHH or any of the true superstars but that doesn’t mean he can’t be very good given good writing and usage.  I’m on the fence but I’m willing to bend easily one way or the other.  I just need a good, push just like Ryback needs.
14. The Big Show (4) – I finally realized the problem with Big Show, he’s Ferdinand the Bull.  He’s the gentle giant.  He’ll do whatever he’s asked to do.  He’s a pro’s pro and I give him a lot of credit but he just doesn’t have it in him to be a heel.  At least not on his own.  He’s an interesting study and I could dissect him for hours but he’s best served with a belt and someone else doing the talking.  Next to that, Stephanie did a great job of getting the most out of this bit they’re doing.  I’m not going to give a great deal of credit to a wrestler that’s akin to being an instrument and it depends on who is playing him at the time to whether he squawks and squeaks or is the centerpiece to an orchestra.  None of the ending of RAW made any sense (not that this has to be as tight as a Breaking Bad script) but if Big Show is fired, then what jurisdiction does HHH have over him?  In turn, next week, how does Big Show come back?  If he’s fired, then he’s simply banned from the building.  Does he pull off the old “buy your own ticket” routine or maybe he comes back as valet to Daniel Bryan?
15. Fandango (HM) – Like Ryder, he’s all in when it comes to his gimmick.  For good or bad, that’s what you have to do to be a success.  What I’m continually impressed with is his in ring abilities.  Every time I see ‘Dango and Summer Rae, I cringe at the dancing and the gimmick but then he gets into the ring and he’s good.  His match with Ryder was short and that’s the way it should be for now.  Let’s give credit to where credit is due, ‘Dango skies off the top rope with that leg drop.
16. Zack Ryder (12) – This was the type of match and opponent that Ryder should have been involved with last week.  Both of these fools give 100% to their ridiculous gimmicks.  He was only give a few minutes of a match but that’s more than he’s gotten in a while and you’ve got to start somewhere. 
17. R-Truth (HM) – I rarely have said, thank god for R-Truth showing up.  The Old Dirty Bastard of the WWE came to CM Punk’s aid against Heyman, Ryback and Axel.  It turns out that Truth and Axel have a feud going, which no one but them knew about.  Congrats to both you guys.  Normally I’d give the Champ the higher ranking but Axel is so dull, R-Truth’s brand of crazy gives him the edge.
18. Curtis Axel (3) – I was worried that Axel had degraded the value of the IC belt so much that he would have no one to wrestle against or any possible direction, thanks to R-Truth he now has both.  The good thing about R-Truth is that he’s been buried so far down that this actually seems like a good thing for both Axel and Truth.  No matter who wins, it will elevate, even slightly, each character’s stock.  If they are able to put on a good match, well you might even have a reason to put one or both of them against some of the higher mid-tier wrestlers.
19. Los Matadores (1) – This was a tough one.  Divas match, 3MB or El Torito con Matadores?  These knuckleheads at least have some tag moves and if I over look their horrible gimmick they’re the better wrestlers.  To think, there are some really talented and unused wrestlers that would benefit from any kind of push, just sitting in the back while these last three groups are given a good chunk of time, it must drive them crazy.
20. 3MB (2) – Why, oh why are we being punished with these fools.  At least they were able to free the 3rd MB-er from his Human Centipede jail cell (which is the only thing worse than being in 3MB).  This just proves how bad Los Matadores are if the only way to get them over is to drag out 3MB to loose to two jerkoffs and a midget bull.  I will give these three credit.  In this horrible economy and a world with government shutdowns, these three have kept their employment and beyond everyone’s imagination continue to work for the WWE.  I’m sure there are a lot of people over in TNA that wish they could say the same thing.

Honorable Mentions

Komen.org – It’s still Cancer awareness month and everyone should go to the website and donate to a good cause.  

Bruno Sammartino – Happy 78th Birthday to a great Legend of wrestling.  Of course times are different now and his seven year reign as champion will never be duplicated.  He looks to be in far better shape than most of the wrestlers that came a generation or two after him.  We can never know for sure but I’m guessing he missed the trend of steroids and unknown chemicals wrestlers were self administering from the 70‘s, 80’s and 90’s and looks far better for it. 

Brad Maddox – I’m sure when he was rising through the ranks of the wrestling ladder, he never imagined that he’d be the whipping boy of RAW but life doesn’t always turn out the way we planned.  In fact, it rarely does.  What he does have going for him is that he’s got a prominent job on RAW, is being seen every week and doesn’t have to take the bumps the average wrestler takes.  I’d say he’s doing well for himself.  Now does he last like Vickie Guerrero (who knows where the bodies are hidden) or is he the next John Laurinaitis who is no longer seen or is a factor on WWE television.

Bob Backlund – This is how I imagine John Boehner acting during GOP meetings these days.  If only Boehner had the cross-face-chicken-wing, we might not have a government shutdown.  

Divas Match – This was horrible.  At the last PPV we got a solid match between AJ and Brie Bella.  There’s only one Diva that I’m interested in and that’s AJ, so what do we get?  A six-diva tag match without AJ, oh joy :(  Not only did I not care about this match, it was awful.  I was only hoping that Brad Maddox came out to apologize to us for wasting our time with such a crap match.  As the old saying goes, you can hope in one hand and crap in the other; let’s see which fills up first.

Santino, Khali, Hornswaggle VS Swagger / Cesaro / Zeb – This is the third match in a row that I’ve been subjected to (last week’s RAW, Battlefield and this week’s RAW).  When will this madness end?  I’m sure Zeb and his fellow Tea Partiers are Pro-Life but this feud needs to be aborted.  Is there a demographic that this feud doesn’t offend?

Side Note(s)

Look, WWE, we know how to install apps.  The problem is your apps suck!  Not once has the WWE official app worked for me on any of my devices when they’re supposed.  Each app is a piece of shit and / or useless.  Fix the WWE app itself and you let us worry about getting it installed.  

Until next week...